Mystery of the Annunciation:  a YES that changes everything!

The Rosary begins with the mystery of the Annunciation, and not by chance. At this moment, the Blessed Virgin allows God to begin his immense work of redemption for all mankind.

A major point is often overlooked. At the Annunciation, God did not come to impose His will on the Blessed Virgin. God came to ask her if she accepted to be the Mother of God. What an unfathomable mystery it is that God, Creator of all things, Master of Heaven and Earth, decided to leave it to the decision of a humble virgin, Mary, whether or not to save the human race! This is the mystery of the freedom of every human being. This human freedom is in fact a terrible responsibility, for it enables us to choose God or, on the contrary, to turn away from Him.

Why did God give us this freedom? Why did He give it to the Blessed Virgin at the Annunciation? He could simply have imposed His will on us and taken us to Heaven automatically, without giving us any choice.

To ask this question is to forget an essential notion: God is Love, and having been created in His image, we too must Love. But Love, by its very essence, requires freedom. Without it, Love is impossible. To Love God, we must therefore be free to Love Him… or not.

Mystery of the Nativity : The Miraculous Birth of Jesus in our Hearts

God decided to become incarnate as an unborn child.

Every meditation begins with one simple thing: contemplating in silence. So, like new shepherds, let us gaze upon the beauty and peace of this moment of the Nativity. Let us be seized by the intensity of this scene. Under the canopy of the starry sky, in the purity of your creation, of rock, plants and animals, in the presence of Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin, oh my sweet Jesus, you are about to come into the world…

“At the hour of midnight, the Virgin sensed that the supreme moment had arrived. Her maternal heart is suddenly flooded with unknown delights; it melts in the ecstasy of love. Suddenly, overcoming the barriers of his mother’s womb by his omnipotence, the Son of God, Son of Mary, appears before the eyes of his mother, towards whom he stretches out his arms.” (Dom Guéranger)

As the Incarnation was miraculous, so was the birth of Jesus also miraculous.  The Holy Virgin, being free from sin through her Immaculate Conception, never knew or experienced the pains of childbirth.

At the moment of Jesus’ birth, the Shepherds heard the angels sing: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will.” This “good will” is a humble will that conforms to the will of God and is entirely submissive to His law. This is the attitude God asks of us.

Thus, when the shepherds arrive near the Child, their hearts, already prepared to recognize him, Jesus by his grace, takes birth in them.

The Crucifixion: When our Cross Bears Fruit

As we celebrate Our Lady of Fatima, let’s meditate on the prayer she left us, which we say after each decade of the Rosary:

« O good Jesus, forgive us our sins, preserve us from the fire of hell, and lead to Heaven all souls, especially those most in need of your holy mercy! »

It is through the Cross that Jesus obtains forgiveness and mercy for us.
It is through the Cross that he preserves us from hell.
It is through the Cross that he opens Heaven to us.
It is through the Cross that He offers salvation to all souls.

Let no ingratitude close our hearts before this ineffable love!
But may we always give thanks to Christ, who by his Passion and glorious Resurrection, unites us in His victory over sin and death!

“The disciples were overjoyed that they had been judged worthy to suffer for Christ“, we are told in the Acts of the Apostles during this Easter season…

Mystery of the Resurrection: Hope for our Eternal Life

“I saw the Lord’s tomb. All around was calm and quiet. There were seven guards. It was night. The holy body was wrapped in its shroud, surrounded by light, and lay between two adoring angels at the Savior’s head and feet.

Then I saw the soul of Jesus appear like a resplendent glory; a multitude of luminous figures, the souls of the patriarchs, surrounded it. Penetrating through the rock, the soul of Jesus came to rest on his most holy body: it seemed to bend over him and suddenly merged with him. I then saw the limbs stirring in their wrappings, and the Lord’s living, shining body, united to his soul and divinity, emerging from the shroud by the side, as if from the wound made by the lance: the sight reminded me of Eve emerging from Adam’s side. Everything was dazzling with light.

Soon I saw Jesus shining through the rock. The earth shook; an angel, like a warrior, rushed like lightning from heaven into the tomb, set the stone to the right and sat on it. The tremor was such that the lanterns shook violently and flames shot up on all sides. At the sight, the guards fell as if paralyzed.

As the angel entered the tomb and the earth shook, I saw the risen Savior appear to his Mother. He was wonderfully beautiful and radiant. His cloak-like garment floated behind him, and seemed bluish white. His wounds were large and radiant. As Mary bowed to the ground to kiss his feet, he took her by the hand, lifted her up and disappeared. The horizon whitened in the east over Jerusalem.“

(based on the vision of Anne-Catherine Emmerich, beatified by Saint John Paul II)

Mystery of the Coronation of Mary: our Queen of Mercy

This prayer to the Queen of Heaven is one of the most beautiful
composed by men.  This title of Queen of Heaven is explained by many saints.

« God’s kingship includes the exercise of justice and mercy; and the Lord has shared it: he has reserved for himself the reign of justice, and he has ceded to Mary the reign of mercy, willing that all the graces granted to men should pass through the hands of this gentle Queen, to be distributed as she sees fit. »
Gerson

« When the Blessed Virgin conceived and gave birth to the divine Word, she obtained half of God’s reign, and became Queen of mercy, Jesus Christ remaining King of justice. »
Saint Thomas d’Aquin

« If the Son is King, the Mother has the right to be held as Queen and to bear the name. »
Saint Athanasius

Saint Bernard says that Mary is called Queen of Mercy because she opens the abyss of divine mercy to whom she wills, when she wills, and as she wills; so that no sinner, however criminal, is lost, provided Mary protects him.